0119 - Casual Recruiting

Introduction
Application
Definitions
Guidelines
Procedures
Authorities and References

Introduction

The Government employs individuals on a casual basis to complete work of a temporary nature.

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Application

These guidelines and procedures apply to all departments and agencies.

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Definitions

Continuous service for a casual employee means service with the GNWT, including employment periods with different departments, not broken by more than thirty working days. This means that if an employee has a break of exactly thirty working days, they do not have a break in service.
Casual Employment is employment obtained through the casual hiring process for a fixed period between five days and six months of continuous employment in any particular department, board or agency to do work of a temporary nature where the employee is not appointed to a position in the Territorial public service. Casual employment can be full time or part time.
Indigenous has the meaning assigned by the definition of aboriginal peoples of Canada in subsection 35(2) of the Constitution Act, 1982.
Term employee is a person employed by the Employer, other than a casual or indeterminate employee, for a period not to exceed twenty-four (24) months of continuous employment in any particular department or agency. This includes employees hired as a leave replacement, employees hired in relation to programs of a fixed duration or without ongoing funding, or employees hired in relation to or in support of training.
Resident means a person who has lived in the Northwest Territories for at least one year immediately prior to applying on a position and who now resides in the Northwest Territories.
Student means any person who is:
- a permanent resident who is considered “ordinarily Resident” of the Northwest Territories and:
- who is currently enrolled in a semester of full time post-secondary studies;
- who has been accepted to attend full time post-secondary studies; or
- who is graduating from a post-secondary institution.

Guidelines

Casual employees are hired to do work of a temporary nature.
Casual employees are hired for a specific period of employment, between five days and six months of continuous employment with any particular department or agency. The five-day minimum does not apply to casual employees who are Health Care Practitioners under Appendix A10 of the UNW collective agreement.
When a casual employee’s period of employment with a particular department or agency reaches 6 months, the employee will not be rehired by the same department or agency without a break in service of greater than 30 working days of completing the casual assignment.
Casual employees shall have scheduled hours.
Casual hiring is based on anticipated workload, staff absences and/or resignations, and the planning of special projects.
A casual employee is not a seasonal, term or indeterminate employee.
Hiring managers must apply the Indigenous Employment Policy and prioritize hiring Indigenous candidates in Casual Employment staffing.
As outlined in the Indigenous Employment Policy, preference in hiring into the public service will be afforded to individuals who are Indigenous, with priority among this group afforded to Indigenous people who are recognized members and descendent of a First Nations, Métis, or Inuit people indigenous to the present boundaries of the Northwest Territories, and second priority afforded to indigenous peoples who are recognized members and descendent of a First Nations, Métis, or Inuit people indigenous to areas of Canada outside of the present boundaries of the NWT, over all other candidates.
It is the responsibility of individuals who wish to receive priority consideration under the Indigenous Employment Policy to advise of their eligibility and to provide supporting documentation as directed to verify their eligibility for priority hiring under the Indigenous Employment Policy.
Applications for Casual Employment submitted by Indigenous candidates will be retained on the GNWT’s Casual Employment database until withdrawn by the candidate.
Hiring managers who are unable to hire an Indigenous candidate for a Casual Employment staffing opportunity must submit an Approval to Hire a Casual request form, requesting permission from the Deputy Head of their department prior to extending an offer for Casual Employment to a person who is not Indigenous.
The request must include:
a) all measures taken to recruit an Indigenous person for the Casual Employment opportunity,
b) detailed rationale for the proposed decision, including setting out why any qualified Indigenous candidates in the GNWT’s Casual Employment or Indigenous Career Gateway Program databases were screened out.
The GNWT is committed to assisting students in securing summer employment. From April 15 to August 15, students will be given higher priority than non-students registered in the same category, meaning that in Casual Employment opportunities an Indigenous student would have higher priority than an Indigenous person who is not a student.
A supervisor may request to hire a specific non-Indigenous individual by attaching a note to the staffing documentation forms, however, the Casual Employment database must be reviewed to confirm that there are no qualified Indigenous applicants, as defined in the Indigenous Employment Policy, registered for casual employment.
Only when all priority referrals have been exhausted or the available priority group members are not suitable for the job opening, may a non-priority applicant be hired
Individuals wishing to be considered for Casual Employment must apply to the GNWT with a resume that identifies their priority as Indigenous, as defined under the Indigenous Employment Policy, and cover letter expressing their interest in casual employment

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Procedures

The hiring manager completes the appropriate staffing request and authorization forms providing:
o   a casual statement of duties, or
o   a job description if the casual will be performing all of the duties of an existing position, or
o   a modified job description that has been assessed by Job Evaluation if the casual will be performing partial duties of an existing position, or
o   a Casual Position Profile if the duties match an existing casual profile, and
o   the details of employment and the qualifications required.
The appropriate delegated authority signs the form and forwards it to the Human Resource Representative.
o If the hiring manager has created a casual statement of duties or modified an existing job description, the hiring manager forwards the documents to Job Evaluation to request an evaluation and appropriate pay range.
o If the hiring manager has selected an existing position or a Casual Position Profile, the Human Resource Representative confirms the appropriate pay range.
The Human Resource Representative selects suitable candidates for casual employment and forwards the applications to the hiring manager by applying the Indigenous Employment Policy and according to the options selected on the Approval to Hire a Casual request form.
Hiring managers who are unable to hire an Indigenous candidate for a Casual Employment staffing opportunity and who did not receive approval to hire a candidate who is not Indigenous must submit an updated Approval to Hire a Casual request form requesting permission from the Deputy Head of their department prior to extending an offer for Casual Employment to a person who is not Indigenous.
The hiring manager interviews the candidates and makes a final selection.
The hiring manager shall conduct the reference checks.
Job offers shall be contingent on receipt of two positive references
A job offer may be conditional upon certain pre-employment checks. Examples include:
o   Confirmation of educational requirements;
o   Motor vehicle licensing requirements;
o   Criminal record check and/or vulnerable sector check;
o   Medical examination or up to date immunization; and/or
o   Confirmation of professional society or association memberships.
Details of all pre-employment checks shall be kept strictly confidential.
If the candidate verbally accepts the proposed terms and conditions of employment, the Human Resource Representative prepares a casual job offer.